Daughter of the Mockingjay
by Isabel Hunter
Summary: This story takes place a few years after the epilogue of Mockingjay. It follows Katniss' daughter through her life.
1. Chapter 1

I quietly pushed my door open and slid out of the room. As softly as I could, I tip-toed down the grand stairs and into the living room. As I reached the last step I put my foot down and imidiately retreated when the floorboard creaked. I looked up the stairs to make sure I didn't wake up my parents or my little brother. I walked to the bookshelf covering the entire far wall. Looking over the books, I took down an old photo album and went to the wooden chest in the other corner. I lifted the lid and winced as it creaked. I lifted a tape out from the chest and ran back upstairs to my room. I pulled the door shut and thought that I was free when a hand grabbed the door. I gasped.

"Dad!" I whispered.

"It's past midnight. I suppose you have a reason to be up this late," Dad asked.

I brought the photo album and tape in front of me. "I... I just wanted to know."

"Well, come on, then. I suppose you'd have to find out soon enough," he said and took the album and tape. He led me downstairs back into the living room. He flicked on the lamp and put the album down on the coffee table. "Your mother put this together. She found a vault in the mansion where the old Panem leader, President Snow, used to live. It was filled with pictures and video tapes of us not only at the Games, but on the train there, our training with Haymich and Effie, our private training sessions to get our scores, the victory tour, everything. With the pictures, your mom made this photo album. All the videos are in the chest over there."

Dad and I flipped through the pictures. Most were poor quality and were taken through trees and obviously were from hidden cameras. At one point, there was an envelope glued to the page. I reached in the envelope and took out a picture. This one was a better quality than the others. It was of my mom and dad on the train on their way to the Hunger Games. It was at night in what I guessed was my mom's room. My father was sitting on the floor with his back to the side of the bed. My mother was curled up in his lap, crying into his chest. My dad's arms were wrapped carefully around my mother.

My parents were young then. They're older now, but still look the same. My dad is a bit stronger, and my mother more graceful. The picture was from before thee Games, and before my mom knew about my father's undying love for her. This picture was from before the bloodshed, before the lies and the loses. The picture, in a way, was at the start of it all. My parents were two of the most known people in all of Panem. Are they rockstars? Actors? Artists? No. They were something even more known. They're Katniss and Peeta. The Mockingjay and the Boy with the Bread.

And I am Ariana. I am thirteen years old.

I am the daughter of the Mockingjay.


	2. Chapter 2

2

"Do you think I could watch the tapes tonight?" I asked my father.

"No, not tonight, sweetheart," he replied and gave me a warm smile. "When you're older." I nodded.

"Now, you need to go to bed! It's nearly one in the morning."

He ruffled my hair and I instinctively playfully pulled away. He scooped me up in his strong arms and carried me back to my room. I got in my bed and he kissed my forehead.

"Good night, my little Mockingjay," he whispered as he pulled the door gently closed.

I was running. My heart pounded fast. I was exhausted, but fear powered me. My boots slammed against the hard ground. Just when I thought I was going to make it to safety, a wall of fire burst up in front of me. I stopped in my tracks and spun around.

As I turned, my shirt collar was grabbed and I was raised a few inches off the ground. I looked down at my attacker and knew she could see the fear in my eyes. She wore the same clothes as all of us; a brown sweatshirt, brown pants, black combat boots, and a green t-shirt.

She looked me straight in the eyes and with her free hand, drew a dagger from her hip. I screamed as she drove the dagger through my heart.

I woke up screaming, with tears streaming from my eyes. I shot up and sat sitting in bed, clutching my pounding heart. My whole body was shaking violently and I was drenched in cold sweat. My door flew open and my parents rushed in.

They came over to me and I wrapped my arms around my father's neck and buried my face in his shirt. I was still shaking terribly, but I couldn't face my mother at the moment. I'd recognized the girl in my dream. She was my mother at fifteen years old. My mother had been the one to kill me.


	3. Chapter 3

3

After about a week or so, the dreams became less frequent. But not I understand why my mother wakes up screaming some nights and my father comforts her. I understand the burden they carry because they were in the capital's sick little games, and why they'll never forget it.

One stormy night when I was holding my little brother in the rocking chair, comforting him from the storm, I heard someone knock on our door. Puzzled, my mother got up to answer it. I wondered who would be crazy enough to go outside in a storm as bad as this.

When my mom opened the door, I could see her tense up. She just stood there in shock of who was at the door. From where I was sitting, I couldn't see who it was. Then he spoke.

"It's great to see you, Catnip."

This snapped my mom out of here weird trance. "Come in," she replied. "It's great to see you, too."

The man walked in, soaking wet. When he lifted his head to look at me, I recognized him as a man from one of the photos. The caption under the picture had said his name. Greg? Galen? Gale! My mother had never talked about him, and I always figured he'd died in the war along with a lot of other people in the pictures.

A boy my age followed Gale in. He looked just like him. I guessed it was his son.

"I have a room you two can stay in. Follow me," said my mother. Just then, my father came down and saw Gale and his son. He was also shocked, but a bit less. Without saying a word, he went over to my mother and took her hand, lacing his fingers through hers. They went back upstairs with Gale and his son. Curiosity overcame me and I followed them, still holding my little brother.

I walked upstairs, half-carefully not sure if I should try to be quiet. If I was caught following them, I didn't want to look suspicious. I went up the stairs and saw them standing by the guest room. My mother was talking.

"... Stay in our guest room. Oh and these are my children, Ariana and Max," my mother said as she saw me coming up the stairs. "Ariana, why don't you show James around the house?" she gestured to the boy with Gale. I looked at him and nodded stiffly. I didn't like this boy. I didn't know why; I hadn't heard him speak one word, but I did. I moved Max to my hip and showed James around the house. I led him around and ended up in the living room. It took a little while because we live in my mother's house in victor village. We moved in shortly after district 12 got repaired. It was about a year after I was born.

I sat down on the living room sofa while James sat down on the chair by the empty fireplace. I curled up with Max in my arms. He was soon asleep. I caught sight of the mantle clock and realized why. It was 11 o'clock. Before I could do much about it, I was asleep myself.

When I woke up, I was in my own bed, and Max was gone. My first thought was that my father had come down and brought me to my room and put Max to bed after I'd fallen asleep, but when I looked around, I realized that wasn't the case.

"What the **** are you doing here!" I shouted. James was asleep in the chair in the opposite corner of my room. His arms were around Max. He was shocked wake and I shot out of bed and grabbed Max from him. Glaring at him, I stalked out of the room and into the kitchen where everyone else was.

"What's wrong, Ariana?" my mother said, handing me my breakfast.

I considered telling her but my eyes set on Gale and I murmured, "Nothing," then sat down at the table.

As I ate I fell deep in thought. _What was James's problem? Why was he in my room this morning?_ Too many questions, no answers. But I was determined to get answers soon.


	4. Chapter 4

;4

I was sneaking around the house to get away from James. For some reason, I just couldn't stand him. I tiptoed into Max's bedroom and found him in his playpen, crying and flailing his limbs. He saw me and immediately changed his tone. I picked him up and kissed his forehead. He calmed down a bit once I gave him his bottle and sat with him in the rocking chair. Before long, he had drained his bottle and his eyes were drooping.

"There you go, Max," I whispered softly to him as I placed him gently in his crib.

"He's a really cute kid," I heard a whisper from behind me. I whirled around and saw James standing in the doorway. He walked over and stood by the end of the crib, looking softly at baby Max. "I've always wanted a little brother."

I stayed on edge but decided not to jump too quickly to judge him.

"I love him like a son," I said as I smiled down at Max, almost forgetting that James was there. He slid closer to my side and we were both watching Max as he slept.

"That's exactly why I want a little brother," James said softly. "to treat him like a son. I want a family."

"What about your family now?" I asked, looking up at him, suddenly intrigued.

"I don't have a mom," he said, looking away. He sat down in the rocking chair and I perched myself on the ottoman at the end of it. I listened intently as he continued his story. "My father slept around a lot in District 2, and I guess he messed up at a one night stand and got stuck with me. He doesn't treat me horribly or anything, he really just doesn't pay much attention to me. I just want a normal family. Mother, father, child. Everyone loves each other. That's all I want." James closed his eyes and I could see that he was trying to fight back tears. "I'd never do anything to hurt them, and we'd all just love each other and try to keep each other safe."

I was surprised by this for some reason. _He really does have a heart,_ I thought.

"Well, it takes more effort than you'd think to take care of a kid," I said, looking down at Max's peaceful body. "It's surprising how much it wears you out. But it's a good feeling to know that all of your energy goes to helping another."

"I'll help," he blurted out. I think he even surprised himself a bit, but he didn't try to take it back. "You're tired from taking care of Max. I'll watch him whenever you want me to. I'd be happy to help."

I turned and looked up at him.

"Thanks," I said, smiling. He turned to face me and I pulled him into a hug. I finally realized just how much taller than me he was as my head came to rest on his chest. I could hear his heartbeat, pounding out a strong, steady rhythm. He pulled me away just slightly so he could look into my eyes.

"Can I kiss you?" he whispered, sounding almost timid and the slightest bit nervous. In response, I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his. He was surprisingly gentle with me. When we broke apart, he smiled at me and whispered in my ear.

"I promise I'll take care of you."

His promise made me feel secure, protected, _loved._ I really believed that he would care for me if I was hurt, or pick me up if I needed strength.

By the end of the day, I found myself sitting in my room, thinking over everything that had happened. Why did I even dislike James in the first place? He had never actually done anything, but before he even said hi, I had turned a cold shoulder. Why? Because it wasn't him that I didn't trust; it was his father. I just didn't trust Gale. I could tell that he put my mother and father on edge, so he put me on edge, too. I need to find out what's different about him.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Sorry, I haven't updated in a long time! I'll try to update faster if I get more readers. And I was corrected on Katniss' age. I said she was sixteen when she was actually 15. I'm sorry! She was sixteen in Mockingjay, and that's what I was thinking of! Thanks, girlonfire44!<p>

-write on-  
>Is<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

5

I was walking quietly around the house, looking for James, when I heard voices coming from the study. The door was ajar so I could see a tiny bit of the scene inside. My mother and Gale were standing in the middle of the room.

"I Knew I'd find you here, but I never thought I'd find you with _him,_" Gale said.

"And why not, Gale? What is it that you have against Peeta? Why is he such a horrible person in your eyes?" my mother replied, starting to raise her voice.

"Katniss, he was chosen for you by the _Capitol._ Does that mean anything to you? He tried to kill you once, Katniss! How can you just forget that?" Gale yelled back. What was he talking about? My father had tried to _kill_ my mother? Why hadn't I ever heard of this?

"He was manipulated by the Capitol. It wasn't really him when that happened! You can't hold that against him!" I heard a sense of pain in my mother's voice. "Besides, he was cured once we rescued him."

"How do you know that he's actually cured and won't snap again? What if this time, he tries to hurt your children and-"

"Gale!" my mother shouted, sounding furious now. "Peeta is cured. And he would never hurt me or our own children!"

"There's no way to know for sure. Yes, _he_ would never do it, but, as you said, he wasn't really himself," Gale spoke. His voice was calm and devious now.

My mother's voice was low and fierce with her reply. "_No one_ will _ever_ lay a hand on my children. Do you understand?"

"Does Peeta feel the same way?" Gale asked. He cornered my mother by backing her up against a wall and caged her by pressing his palms on the wall by either side of her head.

My mother was taken aback by the question. "Of course he feels the-,"

Gale cut my mother off with a kiss. He brought his hands down to hold my mother's waist and for a second, my mother didn't move in her frozen shock. Then, she snapped back and started to struggle. She tried to push Gale away, but he wouldn't budge. I saw his muscular arms strain against my mother's struggles.

When he finally broke the kiss, my mother slapped him across the face, causing his head to spin around.

"Don't you_ ever_ do that again. I'm married and I've been doing just fine without you, I don't need you to jump back into my life and fuck everything up. I'm finally better now. All of us still have our own battle scars that won't heal, but at least I can be happy with mine," my mother spat.

"But you're in a bad place, Katniss! You made bad decisions, and I'm here to help you fix them!"

"Just because you messed up with your wife doesn't mean that I'm not happy with Peeta. I don't care that the Capitol started our relationship. It's real, and I don't need you telling me what to do," my mother countered.

I could see Gale's eyes flicker to the door as I looked through the crack. "Someone's outside," he said, barely allowing me to hear.

Figuring that I had overstayed my welcome, I bolted down the stairs and almost collided into James as he was rounding the corner.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: I am SO sorry that I've put this off for so long! I feel horrible! Don't hurt me! But in all honesty, I kind of just forgot... I'm going to try to aim low and just see how far above the bar I can shoot. My goal is to update every one of my fanfics at least once a month, and just up that when I feel I can. And if you want to read some original work of mine, I have a FictionPress account with the same name, so that's there. Thank you to all that reviewed and encouraged me to write more! This chapter would never have happened without you! See you in a month!<strong>


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